Comics
// Movies & TVfeature

Okay, so in case you didn’t hear, Ben Affleck is going to play Batman opposite Henry Cavill in 2015’s World’s Finest Superman/Batman movie. Every other site is going to be posting long, bile spewing hate rants about the same thing, and I’m writing about this at 1:00am, so here’s my brief two cents.

Movies & TVblurb

With the second half of season 7 starting June 19, Comedy Central has announced that Futurama will not continue following the completion of this run. They had revived the show in 2008 following a five year gap in production. The new run has given some new life to a too-short-lived series, but it seems that has come to an end. Hopefully, the final episode of this run will give some more definitive closure for fans.

Gaming
// Movies & TVfeature

Mass Effect is a property near and dear to many gamers’ hearts. Mine most definitely included. The series hit the scene in 2007, already stocked with a massively deep mythos, as the brainchild of game designer/writer Drew Karpyshyn. Drew rose to prominence as the lead writer of one of the most acclaimed RPGs of all time, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. After demonstrating such a clear grasp of what made the Star Wars franchise great without the benefit of culturally iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and Han Solo, I can’t think of a person more equipped to tackle a brand new sci-fi franchise in the same vein as Star Wars. And tackle it he did.

From the moment the game opened, it was clear that this series wasn’t trying to be anything other than itself. This wasn’t a re-skinned Star Trek or Star Wars. This was something new entirely. The game quickly threw several nuanced different races at us, and for me, someone who is often intimidated or turned off by being dropped into a whole new sci-fi world like that, it just worked.

Movies & TVfeature

By now you've likely heard all about Game of Thrones, which just started its third season last Sunday. This season begins to tell the story of A Storm of Swords, the third book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. There are no spoilers ahead, so read on.

The first episode of the third season illustrates the quality of the source material well: this is a world where set-up and exposition is exciting. Some events from the novel were rearranged freely in order to better set up the remainder of the season, but nothing is harmed in the process. This episode keeps the viewer rapt even though it's almost completely free of action and includes but one brief scene of the series' oft ridiculed/praised/eyebrow-raising “sex-position”. It's good, and I loved it.

Movies & TVfeature

On 30 Oct 12, The Walt Disney Company announced its purchase of Lucasfilm, Ltd. for $4.05 billion and has set Star Wars Episode VII for a 2015 release.

Naturally, every social media site exploded in an apoplectic rage that one might reasonably describe as “millions of voices suddenly crying out in terror” (but without the sudden silence bit). From the backlash, you’d have thought George Lucas edited out “It’s a trap!” from Return of the Jedi. But before your nerd-rage earns you a place at Palpatine’s right hand, stop and think about this deal. You might just like where this is going. We don’t even know who’s writing or directing Episode VII yet, after all.

Movies & TVfeature

Although Hurricane Sandy has put a damper on the east coast's celebrations, you can enjoy these pumpkins carved by myself and two good friends of mine. Do you have any cool or unique pumpkin designs, or have you seen any this year?

Comics
// Movies & TVblurb

As part of Marvel's extension of its movie universe and their newfound appreciation of Joss Whedon, they've signed him on for a full TV series and an Avengers sequel (in 2015). This series, based on the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization featured prominently in The Avengers film, has now been greenlit for a pilot.

Comics
// Movies & TVblurb

Joss Whedon (of Buffy, Firefly, and Avengers fame) has now officially signed on as writer and director for both the Avengers 2 and a new Marvel TV show set to air on ABC. The TV show will reportedly take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the same universe in which his Avengers took place.

Movies & TVblurb

Peter Jackson's take on the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit has been planned as two films, with the first in theaters December 14 of this year. Jackson and his crew have decided to film more from the Hobbit story and various Tolkien-written appendices to make a third movie for a yet unannounced time.

Comics
// Movies & TVfeature

I was just surfing around online yesterday and I saw this trailer for this movie that looks kind of cool. It's called "The Dark Knight Rises." Anyone heard of it? Is it supposed to be good?

Less than 3 weeks remain before the ridiculously-hyped and highly-anticipated final installment of Christopher Nolan's critically-acclaimed Batman trilogy reaches theaters. In my final installment of the "What You Should Read" series for summer 2012, I have prepared a few titles that could enhance your experience with The Dark Knight Rises. These should help familiarize you with some of the stories and characters that may have inspired TDKR. Or, perhaps you're like me and just can't wait.